Crime in South Africa

File:South African police date-rape poster.jpg

South African police date-rape poster.

Crime is a major problem in South Africa. According to a survey for the period 1998-2000 compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, South Africa was ranked second for assault and murder (by all means) per capita, in addition to being ranked second for rape and first for rapes per capita. Total crime per capita is 10th out of the 60 countries in the dataset. Other data rank South Africa second in the world for murders per capita and first for assaults and rapes. Note that these statistics only compare statistics from approximately 60 countries (typically better-developed countries) and many of the remaining countries of the world will have higher rates of violent crime - though these are usually unmeasured, disputed or uncomparable. The UN statistics also contain some flaws (e.g. gun crime in South Africa).

Interpol figures showed that, in 2002, South Africa experienced 114.8 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, the world's highest murder-rate and around five times higher than that of the second-highest country, Brazil. As of 1998, South Africa led the world, although by a smaller margin, in reported murders and robberies. A 2001 report by the Institute for Security Studies concluded that "South Africa has high but manageable levels of property crime but an extraordinary high level of violent crime. It is South Africa’s high level of violent crime which sets the country apart from other crime ridden societies."

From 2001 - 2007, however, the murder and crime rate has stabilised according to official police data.

The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute have also conducted research on the victims of crime which shows the picture of South African crime as more typical of a developing country. These statistics show that South Africa has lower rates of violent crime than many African and South American countries.

The comparison of national crime statistics between countries is controversial since not all countries record these statistics to the same accuracy and every country has its own definition of each type of crime. In addition, the number of crimes that are actually reported is questionable.

Crime has had a pronounced effect on society: many wealthier South Africans moved into gated communities, abandoning the central business districts of some cities for the relative security of the suburbs. This effect is most pronounced in Johannesburg, although the trend is noticeable in other cities as well. Many emigrants from South Africa also state that crime was a big factor in their decision to leave. Crime against commercial farmers has continued to be a major problem in the country. South Africa also has a bad record for car hijackings when compared to industrialised countries largely associated with the lower rate of car ownership. For example, the South African insurance company, Hollard Insurance, no longer insures Volkswagen Citi Golfs as they are one of the most frequently hijacked vehicles in South Africa.

Background

According to government statistics, violent crimes such as murder and (reported) robberies have decreased in recent years.. The rape and hijacking rates, however, showed no signs of such a slowdown. Hijackings and cash in transit heists particularly have been shown to be on the increase. The situation with rape has become so bad that the country has been referred to as the 'rape capital of the world'..

Recently the government has had a widely-publicised gun amnesty programme to reduce the number of weapons in circulation. In addition, it adopted the National Crime Prevention Strategy in 1996, which aimed to prevent crime through reinforcing community structures and helping individuals back into work.

The government has been criticised for doing too little to stop crime. Some question the effectiveness of the South African Police Service. The Government was criticized when the Minister of Safety and Security was in Burundi promoting peace and democracy while there was a spate of crime in Gauteng. This spate included the murder of an alarming number of people, including members of the South African Police Service killed while on duty. The criticism preceded an announcement by the minister that the government would put effort into quelling the alarming increase of crime by 30 December 2006. In one province alone, 19 police officers lost their lives in the first 7 months of 2006.

The Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula caused outrage among South Africans in June 2006 when he responded to opposition MPs in parliament, who were not satisfied that enough was being done to counter crime, saying that MPs who complain about the country's crime rate, should stop whining and leave the country.

Gated communities

One of the most visible results of South Africa's crime problem is the increasing number of gated communities that have been built in an effort to promote the safety of inhabitants. They usually comprise a group of suburban street blocks whose road exits have been fenced off with the exception of one or more entrances that are monitored by guards, usually employed by a security company. The gated communities are generally located in wealthy areas whose residents can afford this type of protection. Having a house within a gated community tends to increase its value, and significantly reduces traffic within the gated community.

Typically, gated communities are set up by the residents of a neighbourhood or block of streets, after they have been granted permission by their local municipality. Their plans also have to be approved by traffic analysts. They typically consist of blockade fencing being erected on the streets at the outskirts of the gated community, with one or more access points set up, which consist of booms in the road that are operated by a security attendant. Most gated communities keep a register of the license plates of cars that enter the community (or in some cases with more than one entrance, the cars that exit as well), and as such a guard is usually present 24 hours a day.

The issue of gated communities is a controversial one, with some arguing that they are akin to a return to the pass laws, and research suggesting that they are a threat to democracy and risk causing further community division. Some opponents to gated communities argue that statistically they are not much safer than non-gated communities, and the South African Human Rights Commission has been asked to report on whether or not they violate any human rights, such as freedom of movement. Legally, the access gates in a gated community are not supposed to deny anyone access; however they nonetheless serve the purpose of deterring traffic and unwanted individuals, and much better monitor the people entering and exiting the gated communities, usually with a register of vehicle license plates or other information. Gated communities also hamper emergency services, because not only are their access points to a given street much more limited, but gated community boundaries do not show up on maps which create the need for extra time to find the entrance.

Private security companies

In order to protect themselves and their assets, many businesses and middle- to high-income households in South Africa make use of privately owned security companies with armed security guards. The SAPS (South African Police Service) uses private security companies to patrol and safeguard certain police stations, thereby freeing fully-trained police officers to perform their core function of preventing and combatting crime.

Police response is deemed too slow and unreliable, and thus security companies are a popular form of protection. Many levels of protection are offered, from suburban foot patrols to complete security checkpoints at the entry points of homes. Most security companies do offer panic buttons and armed response.

Financial crimes

PricewaterhouseCoopers's fourth biennial Global Economic Crime Survey reported a 110% increase in fraud reports from South African companies in 2005. 83% of South African companies reported being affected by white collar crime in 2005, and 72% of South African companies reported being affected in 2007. 64% of the South African companies surveyed stated that they pressed forward with criminal charges upon detection of fraud.

Advance fee fraud (also known as "419" and the "Nigerian scam") is a form of organized crime common in South Africa, especially in the Johannesburg area; in an advance fee fraud scheme the scammer persuades the target to advance relatively small sums of money (the advance fee) in the hope of realizing a much larger gain (usually touted as millions). In 2002 Times of India reported that Trevor Manuel, the South African Minister of Finance, established a call centre for businesses to check reputations of businesses due to proliferation of 419. 419 con men kidnapped and murdered some individuals who traveled to South Africa to finish advance fee fraud deals in the 1990s and 2000s.

See also

• Crime Expo South Africa
• South African farm attacks
• Taxi wars in South Africa
• Race and crime

External Resources

• Crimestats.co.za - An initiative to provide a database of independent crime statistics in South Africa.
• Eye on Crime - Run by the Democratic Alliance (South Africa's official opposition party), this website invites the public to comment, analyse and engage in a constructive debate on the current crime crisis in South Africa.
• Institute for Security Studies - A regional research institute operating across sub-Saharan Africa.

• SA Crime Quarterly - A quarterly publication by the ISS featuring an analysis of crime trends.
  

• True Crime Expo - A website trying to give a 'balanced view' on the crime situation in South Africa.
• WhiteCollarCrime.co.za - An initiative of Business Against Crime to try help people understand and recognise white collar crime and to teach its prevention.
• SAPS Crime Statistics - Crime statistics by year and category provided by the South African Police Service (SAPS).